


In my bed

by Anaelita



Series: It takes time too [7]
Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Ambassador Sokka, Canon Universe, Dorks in Love, Dreams, Fire Lord Zuko, Like, Literal Sleeping Together, M/M, Oblivious, Post-Canon, Pre-Relationship, Relationship Discussions, Set after the end of the series, Sleeping Together, Work, first thoughts of Republic City
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-14
Updated: 2020-04-16
Packaged: 2021-02-28 16:31:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,333
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23310163
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Anaelita/pseuds/Anaelita
Summary: Sokka and Zuko start to work on their first project together as Ambassador and Fire Lord.
Relationships: Sokka/Zuko (Avatar)
Series: It takes time too [7]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1676335
Comments: 4
Kudos: 120





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is the other point of view to [In your bed](https://archiveofourown.org/works/17886815/chapters/42221225).

Sokka gets down the ship chartered specially for him, his face lightening up when he notices the young Fire Lord. He runs towards his friend. "Buddy, it's been so long !" Sokka embraces him.

Zuko pats Sokka's back. "It's good to have you here", he says.

"And I'll be for a while ! My dad sent me for work, can you believe I'm an Ambassador now ?" Sokka says with a wide grin.

Zuko chuckles. "I can", he says at length. "So, what's the agenda ?"

"We need to come up with a project to, quote, cement the friendship between our nations. It's my dad's idea !", Sokka proudly says.

"And it's a great one. Better get to work then." Zuko places a hand on the small of Sokka's back to coax him forward. Then he leads them to the train that will get them to Caldera City.

As they talk Sokka realizes he missed the firebender's smile and his heart misses a beat when Zuko laughs. _Such a beautiful sound... But no, he's my friend. I'm healed now. We were wrong, but things are okay now._ "Don't you have, like, personal transportation ?", Sokka wonders as he examines the wagon they're sat in, "I would have thought, since you're the Fire Lord and all..."

"I could have asked for an official convoy but I thought we weren't in such a hurry", Zuko explains. "Going by train gives us time to catch up, it's been a while since I last saw you. I could swear you've grown an inch taller", he adds with a smile.

"I did, actually", Sokka reveals with a wide smile, "Now I'm almost as tall as my father."

"You'll be someday, I'm sure." Zuko gently nudges him in the ribs, wearing the smallest of smiles.

Sokka puffs out his chest as Zuko notices he's grown taller. He comments, "And you're letting your hair grow".

"Yeah", the young Fire Lord says softly. "I did it for the crown at first, but now I'm starting to like it."

Sokka has a little smile, and he feels his cheeks heat up a little. _I like it, too._

Zuko clears his throat and straightens up a little. "So how was it in the South Pole ?", he diverts the subject.

"Awesome ! The city, yeah, _the city_ , not a village anymore, is growing and restless. New buildings everywhere : schools, shops, a big ass town hall and even industries. My father has a lot of work as Chief of the Southern Water Tribe but he's doing well. And hey, I even got the chance to assist him in a few meetings", Sokka says proudly.

Zuko smirks. "So that's why he gave you an official position", he muses. "He must be so proud of you."

Sokka puffs out his chest. "And now I'm an Ambassador, you know I still can't believe it ?"

"You're more than capable for the job, I trust you."

The young Ambassador softly smiles and feels a burst of pride at being praised by his best friend. "Thanks, buddy".

* * *

Sokka and Zuko have been perusing documents in search for an idea for a good hour in the library, when finally, Sokka has a brilliant idea... "Hey ! Why don't we build a place where benders from all nations, and non-benders alike, could gather ? Like, somewhere nice near the sea, so ships could bring people from everywhere, and there would be a place for everyone."

Zuko raises an eyebrow. "Sounds like the perfect utopia after the hundred-year war..."

"Yeah... but we need a strong symbol of our friendship and it sounds... kinda nice, right ?"

"You really have a way with ideas", Zuko says.

Sokka brightly smiles.

The young Fire Lord says next, "We definitely have to work on that. I'm sure Aang would love the idea."

* * *

After dinner and a bit of extra work – Sokka's idea has hyped them up and they can't help but dream about their utopia – Zuko walks Sokka to one of the guest rooms. They're still talking as he does so, and they end up comfortably installed on the bed, talking about their hopes for the future.

At some point Sokka yawns.

"Getting tired, there ?" Zuko softly smiles.

"Yeah, it's been a long day. But I'm glad I came here. It's nice to see you again." _As friends._

Zuko's softly says, "It's good to have you here, too..."

Sokka sighs happily. _And friends care about each other..._

Zuko smiles.

 _Friends take news, too._ "Say", the young warrior asks after a moment of silence. "How are you and Mai doing ?"

"Um... we broke up, actually", Zuko reveals.

 _What ?_ Sokka frowns. "I'm sorry, buddy. What happened ?"

"Don't be. She was too demanding and possessive, and in the end I couldn't bear it. I mean, I'm the Fire Lord, and as such I have duties to attend to. I can't _always_ be at her side, night and day ! She even made me promise to not break up with her again, but that kind of things don't work like that." Zuko shakes his head. "I'm better off without her, trust me."

 _So you're single again._ Sokka thoughtfully hums. "If you say so."

Zuko's shoulders hunch a little as he guiltily looks to the side.

 _Better be reassuring him._ "Hey, but you're the Fire Lord, you'll find someone in no time", Sokka says, gently nudging Zuko's side.

Zuko shrugs. "I don't know. I don't think I care either."

"Being single's fine too, I mean, look at me." Sokka smirks, pointing a finger at his chest. "Look at us !" He nervously chuckles, realizing his wording may have been misleading.

But Zuko smiles a little, too. "I'm glad to have you here", the firebender says. "It's been kind of sad without you around. I missed you, buddy."

Sokka fondly smiles and leans his head towards Zuko's shoulder, bumping against it lightly. "I missed you, too." _Platonically. Totally platonically._ The young warrior yawns again, and lets his head rest against his friend.

Soon he feels Zuko getting heavier on his side, drifting off.

Sokka patiently waits for the young Fire Lord to be totally asleep, then turns to him to watch him sleep. _He looks so peaceful._ Then he has the weirdest reflex and leans in to place a soft kiss on the firebender's forehead. He catches himself but it's too late, his lips are already on Zuko's skin and he can smell his hair and- _Shit, I think I still have a thing for him._


	2. Chapter 2

_Warm cuddles and soft kisses. Wandering hands and lips._

_Sokka's lost in blissful sensations, wondering how he'd spend so much time without being so in love._

_Wet tongue licking at his lower lip, hips grinding against his and revealing an obvious state of arousal._

_"Zuko", Sokka murmurs, "I love you", and it's the truest thing he's ever said._

_A warm hand on his cheek..._

Sokka blearily opens his eyes to Zuko smiling at him. "Hey, babe", he slurs, a lazy smile forming on his sleepy face.

Zuko stills.

Sokka blinks again, and his cheeks heat up wildly. _Oh shit. That was a dream. A totally non-platonic dream._ Sokka feels his heart tighten as Zuko probably doesn't want to pursue this. "Uh, I'm sorry, I, uh-"

"Nevermind", Zuko quickly says with a light blush. "You're still sleepy... obviously."

 _Now he thinks I took him for someone else, great._ Nonetheless, Sokka nods fervently, intent on keeping clear from trouble.

"I, uh, I'm gonna train my fire forms", Zuko excuses himself before leaving the room.

Sokka's left confused and kind of horny. While Zuko trains his fire forms he spends some much needed time alone in the guest bedroom to sort out his feelings. _Why did I dream of_ _Zuko_ _that way ? Is there still something to pursue ? I thought I was healed and now this ! Ugh, I hate my life._ He slumps on the bed, face first on the mattress, where he finds the faintest trace of Zuko's scent. _Smells good_ , he realizes with the faintest surprise. _Well... Z_ _uko is my friend. A very single and very manly friend, nothing wrong with that._ _Would it be_ that _wrong to explore more ? I wonder..._

* * *

  
  


The young Ambassador finally joins Zuko for lunch, after which they go to the library in order to find some new ideas for Sokka's project.

Zuko's buried behind a pile of papers, perusing documents in search for something interesting. "Hey", he calls out at some point.

Sokka lifts his head up from the other side of the room.

"I'm reading reports from the Fire Nation colonies, and while they're technically Earth Kingdom territory, they mostly want to keep their independence now that the war's over. They've got Earth Kingdom and Fire Nation citizens alike living there, they've been for decades now and won't want to separate families if I were to dismantle the colonies. I think there's something here we can work on."

"Totally, and we're kinda friends with Earth King Kuei, we _did_ save him from a coup after all. Yeah, I think that's a good start", Sokka sincerely smiles.

They spend the rest of the afternoon gathering as much data on the colonies as they can, and after dinner they start drafting the plan they intend on presenting to Kuei.

When they're done, tired but proud of their work, Zuko walks Sokka to his room like he did yesterday. This time he stays in the doorway though.

Sokka walks to his bed and flops on it face first. He contentedly sighs, turning his head to see Zuko. _Let's try something. Baby steps._ "C'mere", he mumbles against the mattress.

Zuko stiffens.

"C'mon, buddy", Sokka says as he scrambles to install himself properly. He pats the space next to him in the bed. "I don't bite." _Unless you ask me to, which is another story._

"Uh, okay", Zuko says with a light blush. He walks to the bed and sits where he's been told to.

"It's nice being here", Sokka says softly. "I thought my place was in the South Pole but here I can work for something even bigger. I'm glad my father entrusted me this task."

Zuko smiles. "Yeah, that's something. I'm proud of you, Sokka."

The young warrior feels his cheeks heating up wildly.

Zuko's hand gently pushes Sokka's thigh. "Come on, don't be shy, you've got nothing to be ashamed of. This is _your_ idea and it rocks !"

"Yeah..." Sokka's eyes dart towards Zuko's hand where it still lays on his thigh. _Why does it feel so intimate ? So intense ? Is this an opening ?_ His heart races as he wonders when the firebender will remove his hand.

But Zuko doesn't.

 _Spirits, this actually is an opening !_ Sokka still doesn't look up, and his hand slowly finds Zuko's. His fingers interlace with the firebender's and a soft smile appears at the corners of his lips.

Zuko stares at Sokka's tanned hand gently squeezing his own.

Sokka sighs. _Baby steps. But maybe there's more to it than just friendship..._ "Thanks for being here", he says at length.

"What do you mean ?" Zuko eyes search Sokka's face, probably trying to decipher his intentions.

 _I'm so happy to be around you._ But, "This is a huge project we have here and I'm glad I get to carry it out with you", he says instead.

"So am I", Zuko says. "This may change the world as we know it, and I'm proud that we're the cause of it."

 _I wanna spend more time with you._ "Wanna stay here tonight ?", Sokka dares.

Zuko stills.

"Like the good old days of Team Avatar, remember ? When we were all sleeping together ?" A slight shade of pink grazes Sokka's cheeks as he says so. _I hope I'm not sounding too much like I'm trying to justify myself..._

"Like the good old days", Zuko repeats.

 _Okay, I have to come clean._ "It was... kind of lonely in the South Pole. And now that you're here, I don't really want to find myself alone again", the Water Tribe teen sheepishly explains.

"Okay", the firebender simply says.

"Great", Sokka beams. He unwraps his hair tie, loosening his wolftail until his hair come down, and comfortably installs himself, nestling against Zuko's side. After an uncomfortable minute of silence where his mind runs wild, Sokka looks up at the young Fire Lord and softly asks, "Do you ever think about it ?" _About us... what happened, what could have been...?_

Zuko blinks, but answers in a murmur, "Yeah, sometimes, I do."

"Was that a mistake ?" Sokka's heart is beating madly in his chest, it's becoming oppressing.

"I, uh... I don't know", Zuko sighs. "It's frown upon in many places, illegal here in the Fire Nation."

Sokka frowns, "I didn't know that."

"I should have the law changed", Zuko says with a sad chuckle. "I wonder how many people live in the hide because of this..."

"Is that why you never...?", Sokka trails out.

"No", Zuko shakes his head. "You had Suki, I had Mai, and I screwed up. _"_

Sokka sighs. "What about Ember Island ?"

"It was... different."

Hope renewed, Sokka dares, "Different good ?"

Zuko blushes.

"Hey, it's okay", Sokka softly says, placing a tanned hand over Zuko's paler one. "I'm just trying to understand."

Zuko remains silent.

 _N_ _ow I'm just pressuring him, time to back out._ "But it's alright if you don't wanna talk about it", Sokka defeatedly says.

Zuko shakes his head. "No, it's not that, its just- I wasn't planning on discussing... that", he admits.

"I guess I'm too curious", Sokka sheepishly says.

"Are you really, though ?", Zuko asks.

 _You have no idea..._ "Yeah", Sokka breathes against Zuko's arm, not wanting to meet his gaze for fear he'll read into his eyes and see how eager he would be if he had the chance...

But Zuko doesn't move.

Sokka closes his eyes and sighs. "Nevermind, I don't want to make this awkward. Better get to sleep..."

"Yeah", Zuko exhales.

As Sokka falls into slumber, he vaguely registers a hand combing through his loose hair. _Feels nice._


End file.
